Reading/North Reading Coach Finds Success, Challenges, and a Husband, All in the Pool: ICYMI

It's noon on Thursday and Sue Hunter is at the Burbank YMCA pool in Reading. That's hardly breaking news. On most days in the winter the North Reading swim coach and Reading assistant coach spends more of her day at Burbank then she does at her home, a short walk away.

Call it grueling, call it dedicated, but Hunter might call it a labor of love. The Hornets' assistant coach is her husband of 36 years, John.

"When I was hired I said, well who is my assistant? And they said you have to get your own," said Hunter. "It was a very short time because I got hired in November. I was looking around and said, 'that guy over there.' And he agreed."

That was six years ago and today they're going strong.

"It's good. He goes to work, and I go to work. It works, and really well," said Hunter. "John is sales manager at a small printing company in Somerville. So [after practice] he goes off to his regular 9-to-5 job. He lets the dog out in the first round."

Hunter grew up outside Harrisburg, Penn., and was captain of her high school swim team. She attended Boston University and swam there, graduating in 1978. She still holds the BU record for the 400 free and if you really want to be impressed by an almost 40-year-old record, don't read the next sentence. Shortly after Hunter graduated, BU dropped the 400 free in favor of the 500 free and the event is no longer held, securing her place in history.

At BU, she met John, also a swimmer for the Terriers. He was a Southie guy who swam at BC High and he proposed to her, where else, at the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston. They have one daughter, Alex, and to know ones surprise she was a state champion swimmer for Reading High School and later swam and graduated in 2013 from, you guessed it, BU.

The Hornets have a co-ed team that splits into boys and girls for sectional and state competitions. This winter they are 1-5 in the Cape Ann League, 3-5 overall. The Cape Ann League championship is Sunday at Salem State. The team practices at 5 a.m. three times a week at Burbank.

Hunter is in her eighth year as assistant to longtime Rocket Coach Ken Holbrook. Hunter joins with Holbrook every day after school to coach a successful team that traditionally is the second-best squad in the Middlesex League behind Lexington. This winter the team has struggled, finishing 4-7 in the regular season with the league meet Thursday.

In between the team practices, Hunter has been a lifeguard at Burbank for eight years. And if that isn't enough, she's also a swim official for MIAA meets as well, works with the Y swim team, and teaches a water aerobics class. If you're beginning to think she lives at the pool, you're not wrong. She's there at 3:50 a.m. five days a week. She goes home after Reading's practice ends around 5 p.m. Somewhere in between she rests.

"Between 12 and 12:30 I'm done, go home, let the dog out, usually take a 20-minute nap and then come back to the pool. If I'm really tired I feel like I'm letting down the boys."

And then there's the chlorine smell. But Hunter does have a way of dealing with it.

"I don't take a deep breath any more. You just get permeated with it. Everything smells like it. The kids smell like it, my skin smells like it. There's no way around it. I don't even sniff anymore when I come in because I don't even know what it's supposed to smell like."

The winter season is a grind but with the state meets just ahead, the end is in sight. Still, Hunter isn't complaining.

"The kids really keep you going. That's what you're there for. If you remind yourself that a few times you're ok."

Photo credit: Nancy Holmes for Patch